Conway gives boss a lift
CRAIG CONWAY’S 58th-minute penalty put new Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray on course for victory in his first home game and was an important step towards him lifting Rovers out of trouble.
Derby captain Alex Pearce clumsily tripped Sam Gallagher as he went to meet Liam Feeney’s cross six yards out and Conway made no mistake with a clinical conversion from the spot.
Mowbray was ushered into the Ewood job last week, replacing Owen Coyle in an effort to stop the club dropping into the third tier of English football for the first time since 1980.
But Blackburn seemed to take most of the first half getting used to their new manager’s orders and, when they did, found Derby’s veteran keeper Scott Carson blocking their path.
In the 26th minute, Feeney’s clever pass put Marvin Emnes in on goal only for the striker to hit his shot directly at Carson.
But there was far more skill on display from the Rams keeper when Feeney’s pass picked out Gallagher, whose goalbound shot was kept out by Carson’s leg.
Emnes should have done better with the rebound but hurried his shot over.
Carson also stuck out a boot to prevent Gallagher’s shot beating him at the near post and parried away a powerful Charlie Mulgrew free-kick. Derby, without a win in five attempts in February and fading from play-off contention, failed to seriously trouble home keeper Jason Steele in the first half despite lots of possession.
Two long shots from Tom Ince, the second of which needed two attempts by Steele to save, were their total end-product.
Derby substitute Abdoul Camara came close to an equaliser with a header that just cleared the bar from a Bradley Johnson cross, while David Nugent and Johnson had efforts kept out by desperate defending.
But Conway might have doubled the lead in the 67th minute when he cut in from the left to unleash a low drive that Carson did well to keep out.